Creation Series

Just Words:

Creation

Scripture Text: Gen 1.1-5 & Acts 19.1-7

Genesis 1 is one of the most talked-about passages in all-of-Scripture. And it’s important for us to look-at and understand because it puts things in perspective. …and it gives us perspective on political debates, …and educational-objectives, …but-also, I think it teaches us something about how to live our personal-lives.

I. Origins

The first thing to notice about this passage is that it talks about origins. Origins… the beginning;

…the start of this world.

Origins are important. This week, a new roof was put on the church. Apparently a hail-storm this past-summer did some damage to the shingles. Now, we wouldn’t call Dillon’s grocery-store and ask them to come-out and fix the problem ~ …would we? Dillon’s does a great job at what-they-do ~ …provide groceries-with-a-smile; …but they don’t-know what-to-do with a roof that has been beat-up by hail! So, in-order-to-fix the problem, …we need to go to the people who know about roofs.

Just before Christmas, our van broke-down. The battery went absolutely-dead! Well, in order to fix the problem, …I didn’t go to Walgreen’s! It’s true that the pharmacy has stuff to fix problems; …but the stuff-they-have is medicines; …and the problems they fix are health-and-body problems. I don’t think that Walgreens could fix the battery on our van!

When was the last time that you felt hunger pains?... My wife’s family says that when you’re really-hungry, …they say that “your big ones are eating your little ones”! After almost-eighteen-years in the family, …I still don’t know what that means!

But, the last-time that you felt hunger pains, …did you go down to the local furniture store?

Maybe you think these are silly-illustrations. But maybe-they-show that we instinctively recognize… …that-when somethin’-is-wrong, we go to the manufacturer or the store that sold the item. When you’re sick or when you have something that’s broken, and it needs-to-be-fixed, …we go to the source… where you got it, …to the one’s who made-it. They are the ones who know how to fix-the-problem. They have manuals that tell how to use and maintain their products. And-sometimes, when an-item breaks-down, and we take it in to be fixed, …we discover that we haven’t been treating (or handling) the item in the way that it was intended. But you-get-all-this by-knowing where the thing originated.

Genesis 1 tells us about the origins of the world; …it tells us about our own origins. Our beginnings are rooted in God ~ …He is an incredibly-powerful Being that created this world. We cannot properly understand ourselves or the world, …we can’t-properly-understand-it-all without understanding our origins.

Science may be able to tell us great, complex answers to all kinds of “how?” questions. But, science cannot answer the “who” question: …”Who is behind this world? Who created it-all?”

Our origins ~ …the beginnings of plant and animal life, …the beginnings of light and darkness, …physics and chemistry, …gravity and photosynthesis ~ …the origins of all-that-is ~ …physical matter and the laws that govern the physical realm, …the biology-of-man and the heart-of-humanity, …the complexities of DNA and the mystery of love ~ …the origins of all-that-is, is found in the will of God. He is the Originator. He is the Creator. “In the beginning, God…” Before all-this got-jump-started, …came-into-being, …thrown-into-motion, …before all-this that we call ‘our world’, …before-it-all, …there was God.

And the Spirit of God hovered-over, …like a mother-hen hovers over her about-to-hatch eggs; …or, like the concert-composer hovers over blank sheets of paper ~ …just-before he marks the first-note of a masterpiece; …or, as the painter hovers over an empty-canvas ~ …just-before the first splashes-of-color. The Spirit of God hovers over the nameless, shapeless, chaotic void-of-nothingness just-before He said, “Let there be light…”

Our origins are rooted in God ~ …in His will; …in His decision to create; …in His power to make; …in His love that motivated Him to act. Our origins are rooted in God!

II. Purpose

Because the Creation began with God ~ …and-not with dumb-luck,…and-not with pure-chance,…and not with a cosmic role-of-the-dice ~ …but because the Creation began with God, …the Creation has God-given purpose.

Knowing someone-or-something’s origins is about-more-than knowing where it started. It’s-about more-than knowing how the pieces fit-together. But, origins also tell us about purpose and intention. We cannot know or find the purpose for this world, …and we can’t know our-own-personal purpose-in-life apart from God’s will. That’s because He is our Creator. He is where it all began. He is the One who decided and acted and spoke this world into existence. What-that-means-is, …I’m not here on this-earth because of blind-luck. You are not here because of chance. We are not here on accident.

This world exits, …and we are part of it because God chose to create. And in-creating, He gave it-all purpose and design. In-order-for-us to find our place in this world ~ …whether you’re in grade-school or, living in the land-of-retirement ~ …in-order-for-us to find our purpose-and-place, we must look to God.